\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdated:<\/p>
21.12.2021<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Share on:<\/h4><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>G<\/span>ot an awkward space that can\u2019t be solved with furniture? For Christchurch homeowners Simon and Chelsea, that space was the old dining room. They had \u2018tried to make it work\u2019 ever since they purchased their 1990 home four years ago. Enter: bench seating.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>With the job now done and dusted, Simon explains to me over the phone just how awesome it\u2019s been chilling out in their new space, sitting in the sun on weekends and sipping their morning coffee.<\/p>\n
As a fellow chilled out, sun-loving coffee drinker, I knew we had to capture those idyllic scenes for this story. So, our photographer Alana and I went round one Saturday morning with high hopes of two things: sunny weather, and their cat Elphie making an appearance.<\/p>\n
After a warm welcome, we walk through the kitchen where we\u2019re graced by gorgeous natural light from the high-ceiling skylight, and the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee.<\/p>\n
To appreciate the space as it is now, let\u2019s take it back a step.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Simon-Before-2.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-8.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The dining room, before and after the bench seating.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Problem vs. The Vision<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\u201cIt\u2019s a strange size room,\u201d Simon begins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dining table didn\u2019t fit, so we moved that to a different spot, then we had a coffee table, but that still wasn\u2019t working as the chair was slightly too big for the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, it attaches to the kitchen, so when we\u2019d have people over they would stand there awkwardly while we were cooking,\u201d Simon laughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my wife and I came up with the idea of booth seating with storage underneath, and adding in a circular table.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
Keep reading to find out:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- How they got tradies interested in their job<\/li>\n
- Why the design changed midway through<\/li>\n
- Advice on what they would do in hindsight<\/li>\n
- And how they use the space now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Simon-Before-1-800px.png\" "\\"Simon")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Simon-After-1-800px.png\" "\\"Simon")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Booth, bench and banquette seating are space-savvy ways to create a practical and aesthetic dining area.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>A Custom-Made Brief That Got Tradies’ Attention<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>Having done some minor renos in the past, Simon and Chelsea asked the question: \u2018Could we do this one ourselves?\u2019<\/p>\n
After speaking with a tradie friend about where to begin, Simon got the recommendation to post the project on Builderscrack.<\/p>\n
This is what Simon and Chelsea included in their original brief, and it\u2019s one of the reasons why they had four tradies chasing the job:<\/p>\n
\n- They marked up a photo of where they wanted the bench seating (piques tradies\u2019 interest and provides context)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- They provided measurements of the space (helps tradies to estimate time, materials and cost to complete the job)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- They included inspirational images from the web to help convey their vision (helps tradies understand the direction and expectations).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Bench-seat-Inspo-1.jpg\" "\\"Bench")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Bench-seat-Inspo-2.jpg\" "\\"Bench")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Bench-seat-Original-dimensions.jpg\" "\\"Bench")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>They referenced these images from the web to help convey their vision, and provided desired measurements.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
G<\/span>ot an awkward space that can\u2019t be solved with furniture? For Christchurch homeowners Simon and Chelsea, that space was the old dining room. They had \u2018tried to make it work\u2019 ever since they purchased their 1990 home four years ago. Enter: bench seating.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div> With the job now done and dusted, Simon explains to me over the phone just how awesome it\u2019s been chilling out in their new space, sitting in the sun on weekends and sipping their morning coffee.<\/p>\n As a fellow chilled out, sun-loving coffee drinker, I knew we had to capture those idyllic scenes for this story. So, our photographer Alana and I went round one Saturday morning with high hopes of two things: sunny weather, and their cat Elphie making an appearance.<\/p>\n After a warm welcome, we walk through the kitchen where we\u2019re graced by gorgeous natural light from the high-ceiling skylight, and the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee.<\/p>\n To appreciate the space as it is now, let\u2019s take it back a step.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The dining room, before and after the bench seating.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> \u201cIt\u2019s a strange size room,\u201d Simon begins.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dining table didn\u2019t fit, so we moved that to a different spot, then we had a coffee table, but that still wasn\u2019t working as the chair was slightly too big for the space.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, it attaches to the kitchen, so when we\u2019d have people over they would stand there awkwardly while we were cooking,\u201d Simon laughs.<\/p>\n \u201cSo my wife and I came up with the idea of booth seating with storage underneath, and adding in a circular table.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Keep reading to find out:<\/strong><\/p>\n Booth, bench and banquette seating are space-savvy ways to create a practical and aesthetic dining area.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Having done some minor renos in the past, Simon and Chelsea asked the question: \u2018Could we do this one ourselves?\u2019<\/p>\n After speaking with a tradie friend about where to begin, Simon got the recommendation to post the project on Builderscrack.<\/p>\n This is what Simon and Chelsea included in their original brief, and it\u2019s one of the reasons why they had four tradies chasing the job:<\/p>\n They referenced these images from the web to help convey their vision, and provided desired measurements.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>The Problem vs. The Vision<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>
\n
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>A Custom-Made Brief That Got Tradies’ Attention<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>
\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-17.jpg\" "\\"#513522")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-18.jpg\" "\\"#513522")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-1.jpg\" "\\"#513522")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Bench](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-21.jpg\" "\\"#513522")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/builderscrack.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/513522-Simon-Window-Seat-1800px-15.jpg\" "\\"#513522")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>